The EU wants to end misleading advertising on the networks and exposes influencers and brands to multi-million dollar fines

Browsing the internet today can be a minefield for the user, who is increasingly defenseless against commercial practices that blur the line between personal content and advertising. Unfair practices, such as using hashtags hidden to notify advertising or imperceptible warnings of only one second, have become widespread in an increasingly anarchic environment, which especially confuses the most vulnerable consumers, such as adolescents and the elderly.

Faced with this chaos, the European Union is preparing an unprecedented legislative offensive. Under the umbrella of the future digital justice law, which will be presented this Wednesday, Brussels intends to update consumer standards in the digital universe and eliminate designs that condition consumer decisions. According to the draft to which ARA has had access, companies that fail to comply with the regulations will be exposed to multi-million dollar fines of up to 6% of their total annual turnover.

One of the hottest points of the regulation focuses on the figure of influencers, whom it wants to force to declare any commercial collaboration in a "clear, prominent and unavoidable" way. In addition to the ban on advertising aimed at minors, one of the novelties is accountability. Inspired by France's pioneering legislation, the new text will not only hold the influencer responsible, but will also force brands and platforms to ensure compliance with the rule and to provide tools so that creators can mark content as advertising.

Against manipulation

Brussels is also attacking addictive designs. The draft regulation proposes eliminating dark patterns (dark patterns in English), interface designs intended to "deceive, manipulate, or distort the economic behavior of consumers". The rule will require giving control to users so they can deactivate compulsive functions such as automatic playback (autoplay), infinite scrolling (infinite scrolling), or unsolicited notifications.

Rights in the realm of subscriptions are also being expanded. And it must be guaranteed that the cancellation of a digital service or contract is as simple and quick as the sign-up process was. Likewise, the law will demand maximum transparency in dynamic pricing mechanisms. In sectors such as the sale of tickets for concerts or sporting events, companies will have to report in real time the number of tickets available at the advertised price and the "maximum price the consumer may be required to pay".